

In her series opener, Ruth makes use of tensions that exist between British locals and Roman army to create a fantastic historical setting and a thrilling page-turning mystery. Medicus is the debut novel in Medicus Investigation series by Ruth Downie. Ruth was born and raised in the beautiful West Country in North Devon and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. She is famously known as the author of Medicus Investigation series. He's top drawer on this one.Ruth Downie is an English author of mystery & thrillers and historical fiction books. And unlike most male readers, he does a good job with the females, using timbre instead of pitch, thus sounding like real women rather than impersonators or elderly aunts. The reader has a pleasant voice, is a good actor, and delineates the characters beautifully. Audio: After a recent series of horrible readers, this was a great pleasure.
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On the one hand, I had to do more guessing by context on terms, but it also allowed for a free flow that I enjoyed. Lindsey with the historical info, and that had pluses and minuses. Except for the unreliable best friend, none of the characters were stock, and some were very startling. The plot is very absorbing, the hero is likable and engaging, and there's ample, if gentle, humor. There was plenty that was fresh and enjoyable. The similarities to Lindsey Davis's Falco are present and obvious, so I didn't expect much more than a takeoff. There does seem to be a tendency for writers of European origin writing about European events to adopt US English, no doubt hoping for bigger sales, Martin Walker's Bruno novels being a prime example, but diversity of language is part of literature! The English hadn't arrived yet!! Simon Vance has however developed some American pronunciations which come across like an obscenity in a sermon - unexpected wrong notes, like privacy- just a clunk in an otherwise good performance. Ruso seems to fit the bill, so far, and Simon Vance reads well, with a rather neutral English accent which is easy to listen to, but has developed a recognisable accent for the British characters- sort of mild Ulster or Ulster-Scots diffentiates locals from invaders. So some series have been returned to sender! I don't want Latin chick lit, just some continuing characters I might like or hate. I don't want just wars, armies and blokes being macho. So I've heard them all, and have been looking for another series of historical mysteries especially in Roman Empire times. I've been a Falco fan since I first heard the dramatisations of the earlier books on Radio 4 with Anton Lesser (available on Audible, like the whole book versions with a number of narrators of varying quality!). With a gift for comic timing and historic detail, Ruth Downie has conjured an ancient world as raucous and real as our own.

Who are the true barbarians, the conquered or the conquerors? It's up to Ruso (certainly the most likeable sleuth to come out of the Roman Empire) to discover the truth. Before he knows it, Ruso is caught in the middle of an investigation into the deaths of prostitutes working out of the local bar.Ī few years earlier, after he rescued Emperor Trajan from an earthquake in Antioch, Ruso seemed headed for glory: now he's living among heathens in a vermin-infested bachelor pad and must summon all his forensic knowledge to find a killer who may be after him next. Now he has a new problem: a slave who won't talk and can't cook, and drags trouble in her wake. His arrival in Deva (more commonly known today as Chester, England) does little to improve his mood, and after a 36-hour shift at the army hospital, he succumbs to a moment of weakness and rescues an injured slave girl, Tilla, from the hands of her abusive owner.

Gaius Petrius Ruso is a divorced and down-on-his-luck army doctor who has made the rash decision to seek his fortune in an inclement outpost of the Roman Empire, namely Britannia.
